Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | What drives adolescents at Clinical High Risk (CHR) for psychosis to use cannabis? |
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| Contribution code | D2.072 |
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| Form of presentation | Poster |
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| Abstract |
Understanding why people use cannabis and the links between motivations and cannabis dependence is critical for developing prevention strategies aimed at subjects with cannabis use disorders (Benschop et al, 2015). To our knowledge, these motivations in adolescents at CHR for psychosis have not been explored in the literature. Aims: To assess the motivations for using cannabis among adolescents at CHR (CHR-CU) and compare these to those of healthy controls (HC) who also use cannabis (HC-CU), and examine clinical associations. Methods: This study will make use of the findings of a prospective longitudinal study (CAPRIS) in which help-seeking subjects who met CHR criteria were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology departments of Hospital Clinic and Hospital Sant Joan de Deu (Barcelona, Spain). At baseline, the SIPS/SOPS, a drug use questionnaire, the Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM, Simons et al, 1998), and other clinical scales were administered. A sample of HCs were also included. Results: At baseline, 203 CHR and 160 HC were included, with 29.1% vs 20%, respectively, being CU (χ2=3.913, p=0.052). CHR-CU were younger than HC-CU (15.9±1.2 vs.16.4±1.1 years, p=0.046). No differences were found between groups in terms of total scores on the MMM. However, CHR scored significantly higher on MMM items 1 (“To forget my worries”, t=-2.998, p=0.007), 4 (“Because it helps me when I feel depressed or nervous”, t=-3.110, p=0.005) and 15 (“Because I feel more self-confident and sure of myself”, t=-2.286, p=0.031), indicating cannabis use for coping and social purposes. Using Spearman correlations, a higher score for these items correlated positively with the Positive, Negative, General subscales and total (R=0.486, p=0.014; R=0. 466, p=0.016; R=0. 530, p=0.005, respectively) SOPS scores. Conclusions: The different motivations for using cannabis could potentially help clinicians identify adolescents at CHR for psychosis and should be taken into account when developing treatment plans to encourage at-risk individuals to give up cannabis use to prevent transition to a psychotic disorder. Study supported by grants from the Carlos III Institute of Health, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria PI11/1349; PI11/02684; PI15/0444 and PI15/00509, PI18/0242, PI1800976, PI210391, PI21009, PI21/00330, PI24/00512 and PI24/00302), and National Drugs Plan (2022I053). |